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Nudity is the Future

Someday in the near future, no later than 2040, you will go to the beach and see more than a few people not wearing a bathing suit, or anything else for that matter. People will be able to get their mail in the buff, sunbathe their bare butts in their own backyard or skinny dip in their own pool, without fear of harassment, jail time, or offending anyone except hardcore church goers, who by that time will represent only a fringe minority.

Attitudes toward sex and nudity have been skewing left for hundreds of years, and like Moore’s Law of accelerating computer power, these changes are also accelerating. I mention computer power because history has shown, time and again, that the greatest catalyst for change is technology. The women’s liberation movement and the feminist movement could not have started without the opportunity for women to work, something that became more prevalent after the turn of the century with the advent of new technologies. No longer needing to prove themselves physically capable, women could take jobs as telephone operators, typists or machine operators (in World War II). Without the need of a father or husband to provide for them, women were free to fight for equal pay and the right to vote. The same technological development helped to drastically change morality. With the invention of the Pill, the sexual revolution spread like a virus (no irony intended) across every city in the country, and with it, a change in beliefs and attitudes. Virginity before marriage was no longer expected of a woman and even the “one night stand” has lost its stigma. While conservatives argue against this “declining” moral landscape (certainly unwanted pregnancies is a negative side effect) the fact is, these changes were inevitable. They were inevitable because basic human needs and desires cannot be repressed. It is the same reason Americans have become so obese. We’ve evolved to crave fat to survive long winters without food. Now that food is in abundance, we find it almost impossible to resist the urge to do what is in our nature, despite the knowledge that heart disease is our #1 killer.

I recently had the fortune to read an article in Cracked, “The Five Craziest Ways Men Have Censored Female Sexuality.” It’s certainly a must read. But what really stood out for me was how Islamist countries like Iran fight to repress human nature. Censors paste cartoon shirts on all of the female characters on the show Lost, because tank-tops are just too arousing. Even things we would never consider sexual, like a man and a woman sitting on a couch or the bulge of a woman’s blouse, is deemed unacceptable. Iranian censors will even blur a closeup of a woman’s face. No matter how many things the Iranian government tries to omit from TV and movies, boys will find something to be aroused by, because sexual desire comes from within. It’s only natural that after puberty, an increase in testosterone in the pituitary gland will make a man think of sex, and make him see things, almost anything, as sexually appealing. Trying to repress this instinct is a lost cause. It’s plugging up a pressure cooker bound to explode. The irony is that, by making everything taboo, everything becomes a forbidden fruit. Essentially, Iranian censors are creating the sex crazed society they are trying so desperately to prevent. No wonder a man can claim overwhelming desire as an excuse to rape. In a country where a woman’s face is blurred on TV, imagine the effect of a XXX image on an innocent Iranian boy? But wait, we don’t have to imagine, because of a new thing called the Internet. With the click of a mouse, Muslim boys and girls can see things that would make their grandparents faint. Just look at how women are using this new technology to fight the injustices of Sharia Law. The battle against free information cannot be won, as history has proven again and again. The only recourse is acceptance, and acceptance is a good thing, because human nature is in the right. Honest, open, free information results in the good of any society. As nudists, we find nothing inherently sexual. Nudists are desensitized to the stimulus of the human body (which is still arousing, but never overwhelmingly so), so that the act of sex develops naturally, by getting to know a person as a person.

The Internet is changing more than Islamic society, however; it’s changing ours as well. The last irrational, moralistic taboo in America is that of public nudity. There is no difference between an Iranian woman being arrested for going out in the streets without her hair covered and an American woman being arrested for stepping out her front door without a top on. Nobody can give a rational explanation for anti-nudity laws. The government uses, instead, abstract terminology like “disturbing the peace” or “public indecency”. Without realizing it, we criminalize nudity on strictly moral grounds, based on ancient and outdated religious biases that have no place in a modern society. Often, this irrational attitude is harmful to our children. Pedophiles use the nudity taboo to their advantage; since their victims are taught never to discuss their genitals, most of these crimes go unreported. On the opposite end of the spectrum, one married couple had their two children taken away for months by Child Protective Services after dropping photos at Walmart of their kids playing in the bathtub.

In the following decades, the nudity taboo is going to join every other archaic taboo we no longer recognize. This change is already taking place. In 1992, it became legal for a woman to go topless in New York City, even in downtown. One female reporter, going bare breasted in the streets, found that most people were supportive. In San Francisco, a law to ban public nudity only passed by a narrow margin. Just type “nudism” into Wikipedia and see what comes up. Or check out deviantArt, where nudity is acceptable as long as you post a warning. Even this blog features nudity, without Google making a fuss, as long as nobody complains. Contrast this to just two decades ago, when my USF Nudist Club website was deleted without warning by AOL. For good or ill, the biggest change will come from pornography. While porn has been around since ancient times, it has never been so accessible. A recent TED talk pointed to the proliferation of porn viewership among boys as young as ten. A study was attempted to compare boys who had seen porn to those who hadn’t, but the study was unsuccessful because there were too few boys who had never seen porn! The ten year olds browsing porn sites today will become, by the year 2043, our police officers, our judges and our lawmakers, and they will certainly be unable to find the human body indecent or criminally offensive.

While modern nudism has been around since the 30’s, and modesty differs from person to person and between time and place (even today, many women prefer a one piece), bathing suit trends have been exposing more and more skin. What was deemed indecent in the 1800’s became commonplace in the 1900’s. The thong bikini, legal on many beaches today, was inconceivable decades before. While many women (and men) will continue to buy and wear suits decades after the year 2040, more enlightened people will recognize the folly of naked shame and choose simply to go without. By 2100, bathing suits will seem as silly as the beachwear of the 1800’s.

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36 thoughts on “Nudity is the Future”

As privacy declines, the medias' focus on body shame increases. If a woman doesn't have a small waste and large breasts she is criticized. If a man doesn't have muscle tone and a large penis, then he is criticized. The view of what is an acceptable body is becoming increasingly impossible without expensive and harmful medical interventions. This will lead to increases in depression and suicide. The media wants to see people naked and then harass them for any “imperfections”. Britney Spears is the best example. When she was younger, the media pestered her about posing nude constantly. Then a few years ago, she gets out of a car without her underwear on, and pictures go on the internet. The result is intense teasing and ridicule all over the media. The media is driving this car, and they lack the maturity (by choice) to properly handle it.

You bring up some valid points, Marcus, and I agree with much of what you have to say. While religion created the nudity taboo, it is perpetuated by the media (and might I add, the fashion industry). There is definitely pressure among people to look a certain way. Most naturist bloggers today focus on feminism and body acceptance. But the “media” is fighting a losing battle. People seemed more obsessed with beauty in the 80's than they do today. Just look at the decline of televised beauty pageants (barring child pageants). I remember, as a kid, the airing of Ms. Universe was a big event in my household, like the Superbowl. Today, most people agree that putting women on display like meat is sexist. Also, look at the propensity of nudity among average looking actresses, like in “Girls”. It is only a matter of time before people discover that naked shame leads to many of society's problems and I stand by my prediction that by 2040 you will be able to garden naked without harassment.

Many early Christian baptisms and weddings were done in the nude. Jesus himself may have been baptized in the nude and definitely was effectively naked when he washed the feet of his disciples. It was not to humble himself but his disciples. Ever see a pope do that? Ever see Billy Graham or any preacher do that?

I still feel a tad uncomfortable as a man with a smaller penis (I'm a “grower not a shower”) when I go to nude beaches. It took me two years to feel comfortable at a nudist resort (I have since become a member).

I saw a cartoon of a group of women who were upset at a man who told a lady that he didn't date heavy women. But the same group mocked a different man who was rejected for a date for being “too short” as having “small man syndrome.”

Point is society doesn't want you to chance what you can change but will belittle what you cannot.

Body acceptance is not the same as health acceptance. But a poor lifestyle alone is not a reason to tear someone down.

Many early Christian baptisms and weddings were done in the nude. Jesus himself may have been baptized in the nude and definately was effectively naked when he washed the feet of his disciples. It was not to humble himself but his disciples. Ever see a pope do that? Ever see Billy Graham or any preacher do that?

I still feel a tad uncomfortable as a man with a smaller penis (I'm a “grower not a shower”) when I go to nude beaches. It took me two years to feel comfortable at a nudist resort (I have since become a member).

I saw a cartoon of a group of women who were upset at a man who told a lady that he didn't date heavy women. But the same group mocked a different man who was rejected for a date for being “too short” as having “small man syndrome.”

Point is society doesn't want you to chance what you can change but will belittle what you cannot.

Body acceptance is not the same as health acceptance. But a poor lifestyle alone is not a reason to tear someone down.

The media has nothing to talk about. I think in the near future we will see a decrease in the TMZs of the world as people get fed up with the over saturation informationless news stories. Once the media is forced to deal with actual news the reports of nudity should drop allowing people to be nude in peace.

Because Police are not the only issue. That and for many women in New York City, it probably is something they either remain unaware of, or their peer group/themselves personally are holding to some kind of social stigma regarding women who “go around like that.” Even the bathing suits of the past which are so boringly hum-drum by current standards were adopted slowly at the start, in large part due to social stigmas and pressure not to (un)dress that way.

The future of nude acceptance seems to be starting off a bit rough. There are still laws not only on the books, but being enforced, that equates simple nudity (simple as a female taking off her shirt while still wearing a bra) as sexual harassment and put on the sex offenders list and going to group sessions with the same people who rape and have sex with kids. If you are caught by police taking “a leak” privately behind a bush, you have the same thing hit you. To equate simple nudity or partial nudity as sex offenders, without a proper trial, is the same thing as saying you carry a gun and now you are a murderer. Even murderers have degrees of murder, and go through lengthy trials to prove without a doubt, whether one is guilty of murder and at what degree. But not nude people. We are guilty by the fact that we are human and all people have nude bodies and we just happen to be more comfortable with it, even though sex has nothing to do with it. Once we overcome that problem, then we may start seeing some common sense about this and more people able to be nude, or accept it of others.

Thanks for stopping by, Boyd! I agree 100% with what you are saying, but I may be a bit more optimistic. It is true that the Sex Offender Registry List can be a witch hunt. Legitimate pedophiles can be strung up by their testes if you ask me; I have zero tolerance or compassion for people who victimize children. But to lump everybody on the same list, whether they hurt children or not, is not only absurd but unethical. Real nudists have the capacity to look at children, and be nude around children, without thinking of sex. Can other people say the same? When you look at another human being “as” a human being, like we do, you remove any possibility of sexual violence. Nudists want nothing but honesty and transparency. Genuine pedophiles, on the other hand, rely on secrecy, and the naked taboo which helps perpetuate a culture of shame, so that children fear speaking out when they are being abused. Unfortunately, the people in this country do not understand this, or our philosophy, but slowly and surely, the word is getting out. Just as, thirty years ago, gays were thought of sexual deviants, suffering from a mental disorder, it is only a matter of time before real nudists are given the respect we deserve.

I can't wait for this! I am young. I turn 23 in four more weeks and boy I'm excited for non-sexual nudity to finally be more commonplace in the United States! It should go the way of Europe where people are naked together in family, friends, couples, friends, singles, or other groups. In 2040 I turn 48. I sure would love to go outside naked and not get arrested. Then public nudity should legalize! I don't mind walking or running around naked in public. I think we should all do that. This is a very good article! One of my life goals is to swim naked and I have never done it. I also want to do many other things naked. I sleep naked. I am pretty new to nudism – started it nine months ago. I kind of wish I would have begun nudism between ages 12 and 20 but I'm still young and can therefore be a life nudist. I hope to have gone to a nudist place at least once by the time I turn 30 in 2022. In the meantime until 2040 comes I then should practice nudism as much as possible. I then hope that the United States legalizes public nudity in 2040 at latest! I hope a future wife of mine will also want to be naked with me for circumstances other than sex. I'm male. I'm considering raising nudist children. As family I hope that me, and my wife and kids in the future can be naked when practical. I'm tired of having to wear clothes especially all the time. We were born naked and why not live that way too? Why not detest (hate) clothes instead? I want a nude-friendly world. I'm seeing signs of nudism growing too. my youth generation is more interested in nudism than ever, websites of nudism are expanding rapidly, there are more nudists on the rise each year, there is swimwear not covering much of the body anymore, nudist places are increasing, and there is more attraction of youth into nudism. I'm looking forward to the day when everyone on this Earth will begin to roam around naked and I'm totally sure it will come sooner or later. Clothing someday will stop being an issue. Why not promote nudism? If not society will keep thinking our bodies need to be covered up in shame. Why focus on modesty as a reason to wear clothes? That is just senseless. I will be more clothing-optional when I move on my own (I'm still with my parents and they may not like me practicing nudism when they're around), and then be naked as much as possible. I am so excited to non-sexual nudity to go public and not be arrested just for that! I'm all for a nude-friendly world. I love this!

Regarding Male/boy swim attire: Historically it was only affluent families who could afford to buy clothing just for the purpose of swimming. Wearing a swim suit in a male only environment was usually a show of affluence. I think the future may be the same, where wearing a swim suit on a public beach is strictly to show off that you have “fashion sense” Of course it will mean that you have no sense of what is the most suitable attire for swimming.

I never thought of that, Bob! I know that, during medieval times, bathing suits didn’t even exist. You could not hope to swim in anything but your bare skin. Hopefully, we will see those days again (sans the black plague). Thanks for stopping by!

Reblogged this on Nu et heureux – Naked and Happy and commented:
Nudity is the future or not? I wish it is as it would really be enjoyable to be naked whenever and wherever possible. This post brings some good points to forecast that in the foreseeable future, nudity would become again what is should always be: normal and natural!

Unfortunately, there was not enough interest to make it official. I went to the college newspaper to try to get a nudist article published, but they said I needed to interview some students who were into it, and the one girl I knew (who worked at Paradise) didn’t want her name divulged. I then went around hanging up flyers around campus, with an e-mail address and a link to a website, but again, no takers.

That’s because people are, understandably sadly, scared of being identified as nudists for fear of being branded “perverts” and “sexual predators”, which can lead to legal trouble, loss of friends, being cast out by your family, loss of jobs and trouble getting hired in new jobs, etc. etc.

One reason I use an alias is just that. I work with children (indirectly, company I work for provides services to schools), making it very risky for my name to be associated with anything that might be construed “sexual”, which sadly nudism still is.

Before laws can change, attitudes must first change, and they have been changing now for decades. In many states there are still laws “on the books” that prohibit any kind of sex act outside of traditional missionary position, and yet you would be hard pressed to find police officers enforcing such laws. Furthering that, in states like Florida, where I live, being nude is illegal only if it is in a “lewd or lascivious manner”. As these are arbitrary terms, I can see a time when judges won’t even have to change the law, only interpret it in such a way where innocent nudity becomes decriminalized.

They have been changing for decades, but not for the better when it comes to nudity.
Ever more nude beaches are being closed, using “public decency” and “orgies” happening there as an excuse (which is in part true, some nude beaches are little more than open air brothels, it was a major problem where I live with police being called in (by the actual nudists) sometimes several times a day to break up groups of up to several dozen people (usually homosexual men) using the place as their open air sex play park).

The west is becoming ever more prudish, at least its outward face. In no small part this is due to the massive influx of muslims, demanding “decency” and “modesty” which in their world view equates to hiding every part of the body except maybe the hands in cloth sacks.
Some people dressing ever more provocatively is largely a counter to that, but it’s not going to change the tide I’m afraid, it will only lead to more restrictions, dress codes, and an eventual (and I fear rapidly approaching) reversal to the Victorian attitudes towards dress and behaviour.

Every year there is more call here to ban bikinis and other 2 piece swim wear for women, as being “immodest”, “too revealing”, “inviting rape” and I hear the same from other places including the US.
Meanwhile schoolchildren in the UK are forced in ever more cities to wear hijabs and niqabs as school uniforms to “avoid looking attractive to sexual predators”.

If that’s the direction we’re going, I fear nationwide bans on being nude in your own home outside of the shower will not be long coming.

I think you need to look at the big picture, in time scales of decades or even centuries. What we are seeing in Europe and in some cases the US when it comes to religious extremism is a backlash against liberal trends. I believe Trump was elected, in part, due to there being a black president, the legalization of gay marriage, and rights of transgendered people to use the bathrooms they identify with. In the same way, Muslims have been seeing their “values” being threatened and eroded by western culture for decades. While a few nut-cases may push for the wearing of the hijab in parts of Europe, in Middle Eastern countries, women are pushing back and getting more freedom. Saudi women just recently won the right to drive. In Tunisia, Muslim women can now marry Christian men, when they could not before. Make no mistake, we are in the midst of a culture war, but it is a war we are inevitably winning. This is why they are blowing themselves up to kill innocents, because they feel powerless, because they have no real government authority. It’s the death throes of religion.

As for nude beaches, I am less concerned about that. I feel that having a designated place for nudists to hide is antithetical to the movement. We shouldn’t need special zones to hide. We wouldn’t suggest cloistering gays in special rooms to cover their perversions. We should be coming out to the public.